Journal of Medical Sciences and Health Care Research
Rural Health Care - Challenges and Opportunities: Lessons Learned from the Villages in Rural Rajasthan
Abstract
Rajeev MM
Rural Health Care: Challenges and Opportunities in the Villages in Rural Rajasthan—Lessons Learned from Field Work Practice. Rural communities, on average, have far less access to healthcare services than urban areas. Access to health care can prevent disease by means of early identification and treatment, as well as provide a higher quality of life and increase life expectancy for persons in the community. People and communities who lack economic clout and autonomy will inevitably have restricted or non-existent access to medical care. Here, the author highlights the various issues pertaining to health and mental health concerns of people living in the rural areas of Rajasthan, who often experience discrimination as well as social stigma towards services such as health, social, economic, and education.
Poor socioeconomic conditions, a lack of education, and poor health status are common among rural people living inside villages. The author emphasizes how discrimination and bias prohibit people from having equal access to healthcare services by preventing vulnerable populations from participating in the delivery of healthcare, limiting their legal access, or preventing them from entering healthcare systems altogether. The study was conducted in the village of Bandarsindri in Kishangarh Taluk, Ajmer district, Rajasthan. The study’s aims consist of (a) to know the general health status of people living in the village (b) learn the mental health-related requirements of the individuals in the study location (c) to determine the pressing health problems of the children and women in the village (d) to understand the access to healthcare of the people in the rural areas and (e) to determine the scope of implementing a programme/intervention with the support of Central University of Rajasthan and the use of other local resources.
The methodology adopted for this study is qualitative, and the data were collected through individual interviews and focus group discussions. The researcher used a purposive sampling method for selecting the samples; the sample size for the qualitative interviews was 20, and the FGD was 3. The qualitative interviews were conducted among women, aged persons and the youth population in the village. Content analysis was performed for the qualitative study, and detailed notes were prepared for analysing the FGDs. The findings emphasize the urgent need to address the various health needs of the community and empower them to seek health care and support from government resources by building advocacy and networking activities by development professionals.